Home Innovation Research Labs Preps for 2018 NGBS Update

Call for Consensus Committee applications and proposed changes to current National Green Building Standard.

Home Innovation Research Labs, in its capacity as an ANSI-approved standard developer, has announced preparations for the development of the 2018 version of the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) are now officially underway. Home Innovation will again act as the secretariat, or administrator, of the standard development process. Once completed, the updated standard will again be submitted to ANSI for approval.

The 2018 version of the the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) will be the fourth iteration of this national residential standard. It was originally developed by a Consensus Committee and approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in January 2009, making it the first green standard for residential construction, remodeling, and land development to be approved by ANSI. As an ANSI-approved standard, the document is subject to periodic updates as a way to ensure that advances in building codes, technology, and other developments can be considered for incorporation. The NGBS was last updated in 2015 and again approved by ANSI in March 2016.

To be eligible for ANSI approval, the development of the standard must follow an ANSI-approved process, which is now officially underway with Home Innovation Labs issuing a call for members of the Consensus Committee that will be charged with developing updates to the NGBS. Similar to the make-up of the committees convened to develop previous versions of the standard, the committee for the 2018 updated version will include government officials, advocacy groups, home builders, product manufacturers, and other affected industry stakeholders in residential construction.

The committee members and other interested parties will be assigned to task groups, each specializing in a different area of the NGBS — such as energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, or lot and site development. Those who would like to apply to serve on the Consensus Committee or a Task Group must submit their applications online by February 6, 2017. (NOTE: The first meeting of the Consensus Committee is planned for April 18-19, 2017, in Washington, D.C.)

“ANSI rules for standards development provide checks and balances based on the principles of openness, consensus, balance, and due process, lending to the unmatched credibility of the National Green Building Standard in the residential industry,” said Michael Luzier, president and CEO of Home Innovation Research Labs. “Because the ANSI process requires a balanced representation of stakeholders on the Consensus Committee and consideration of the views of all participants, this update provides an important opportunity for all those with an interest in bona fide green home building.”

The entire Consensus Committee will hold two hearings in Washington, D.C., in 2017.

At the first hearing (April 18-19), committee members will initiate the review of all proposed changes to the NGBS, which will include input from members of the relevant Task Groups.

At the second hearing (Fall 2017, dates TBD), Consensus Committee members will consider, discuss, and take formal action on all proposed changes.

Once the committee has completed its work, the newly updated National Green Building Standard will be submitted to ANSI for approval in 2018.